Shopping for the Season?

Christmas in Rhodesia

Mr. John Edmond sings Christmas in Rhodesia:

Salerno on the War on Cash

Gallipoli Evacuated

A century ago today, British forces started a full retreat from Gallipoli.

To Design a Continent

97 years ago today, the bête noire of this blog arrived for the post-WWI Versailles conference.

Russian "Absolutism"

I was at a meeting last week on Russian history at the National Archives of Norway.

The main speaker, a Norwegian author of a trilogy on Russian history, whose first volume was recently published, made some comparisons between the Stalinist and Tsarist regimes.

He got off too easily on the issue of total political power as an inherited feature in Russian political culture from Tsarist Russia.

Said Nicholas Henshall in his The Myth of Absolutism:

There is growing dissatisfaction with the belief among Western historians that Russia was an Asian despotism alien to the traditions of European monarchy.

Matthew Raphael Johnson wrote in his book The Third Rome: Holy Russia, Tsarism and Orthodoxy:

[T]he English language historical literature on Russia merely rehashes 90-year-old Bolshevik propaganda and calls it history.

Oscar II Passed

Nine dozen years ago today, Oscar II, King of Sweden and formerly King of Norway, passed on – in his 79^th year.

A Day of Infamy

98 years ago today, the bête noire of this weblog signed the declaration of war against Austria-Hungary, after having spoken three days earlier.

Doug French on Democracy

To Sea for God Demos

Three years short of a century ago today, the Persona Non Grata of this weblog set sail aboard the USS George Washington to carve up Europe and make the world safe for God Demos.

Emperor Francis Joseph

Three years short of seventeen decades ago today, the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria commenced.

Quote of the Month

Over at the Mail on Sunday, Mr. Peter Hitchens says:

Real conservatives are in favour of all kinds of unelected power and authority.

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